ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE LABEL RELEASES IR14 DIRECT ACTION DUBMISSIONS

Dub consciousness rebels, IR & Detroit techno guerillas UR collaborate to create the first Detroit Techno tracks remixed in Jamaica with full-on dubology.
IR14 DIRECT ACTION DUBMISSIONS EP is the latest in a series of dubdance/message releases by the IR (Indigenous Resistance) label, an offshoot of The Fire This Time, the radical musicaldubwisdom collective (www.firethistime.com).

Following in the footsteps of their recent three 7-inch vinyls IR11, IR12, IR13 which were pressed in Jamaica to get that real authentic yardstyle bass, and help extend their “freedub” series (vinyl, books and posters distributed free to the public), IR14 DIRECT ACTION DUBMISSION continues IR's bold musical experiments mixed with social activism.

At the epicenter of this release is a dub/techno remix of IR's hard-hitting, knuckle-to-the-cheekbone of hypocrisy and powermongerers. A few months ago, IR was working with Steven Stanley, Jamaican Dub Remixer Supreme on some tracks and realized that the electro funk tracks that Mad Mike of Underground Resistance created for the IR track “Krikati” and the tablas & dub driven basslines of asian dub foundations founder dr das could turn into a dub dangerous remix in the hands and mind of dubmeister Stanley.

IR was inspired by the acts of resistance by Krikati Indians of Brasil to venture deep into the interior of brasils northern provinces to tape them and get their message out.The krikati are in a murky situation often faced by indigenous people of that region. Land has been slashed and burnt to make way for electricity powerlines (the issue of wether proper compensation was ever provided is difficult to ascertain) at the same time cattle ranchers covet the land and encroach on ancestral lands often regarding indigenous inhabitants as “being in the way “of their drive for economic enrichment and often employ ruthless methods to “resolve” this problem. In this context for their own survival the krikati attempted to enter into discussions with state government about issues like the encroachment onto their ancestral lands. After years of being ignored by the bureaucrats, the Krikati took matters into their own hands.

Realizing that access to those high-voltage lines and the electricity they carried to the major cities of Brazil were a powerful bargaining tool, the small band of Krikati took steps to gain control of the situation by burning the lines down.

Armed only with bows and arrows and dubwisdom, the Krikati were able to change the dynamic. By cutting the electricity that fed the major cities of the state, obviously the power lines went dead, but the Krikati’s power was surely felt when the lights went out. Their decision to adopt this tactic was particularly courageous when you comprehend the facts: not only were they small in numbers and without arms, other than bows and arrows, but also their isolated location made them potentially an easy target for a reprisal by the heavily-armed and well-trained military forces of the state. Way deep in the interior of the state, the attacks could occur unreported and forever hidden from the public view. This situation is parallel to one faced by many indigenous people in various parts of the world. Dig deep and you will hear stories out of countries like Columbia. Killings and exploitation of indigenous people often go unreported there because of the remote locations where indigenous people live. The cover of the jungle canopy and the lack of communication are blinds that make the situation ripe for misdeeds. Or go to West Papua where indigenous groups like the Free West Papua movement (OPM) wage jungle guerrilla warfare against Indonesia which has been under-reported or outright neglected for many years.

In the case of the Krikati, the power companies freaked. Fearing continued profit losses from future disruptions in electricity supplies, they forced the state government to negotiate with the Krikati. In turn, the state government was eager not to have the Krikati’s success publicized, as it would set a “bad example” to other aggrieved indigenous peoples. Deliberate misinformation about the struggles of indigenous peoples has been a heavily used tool by the status quo in brasil who use this tactic to manipulate public opinion against indigenous people and activists by casting them in an extremely negative light. IR made the ardous journey to the ancestral domain of the Krikati show solidarity with them and consequently recorded them there. The vocals recorded by the Krikati in their indigenous language JE, partially contains code. Translated, the vocals relate that, “the resistance underground continues.”

Those words actually lead to the inspiration of finding first musical participant in the this track, Mad Mike, founder with Jeff Mills of famed Detroit techno-militants “Underground Resistance” aka UR. UR has released landmark records such as RIOT, KNIGHTS OF THE JAGUAR, and THE AZTEC MYSTIC. UR has often been referred to as one of the defining and influential groups in the history of techno by offering a militant, politically informed brand of music, something they have described at times as “sonic revolution.” This musical philosophy is backed up by their anti-mainstream business practices, best reflected by their self-owned record label” UR “and distribution outfit “Submerge”.

Mad Mike is himself an accomplished musician whose range of instruments played extends well passed the keyboards & synthesizers and he’s normally associated with. He plays some nasty heavy guitar riffs and is equally adept at playing gospel and jazz.His musical virtuosity is on full display within tracks like the UR classic “Hi-Tech Jazz”. In the IR14 liner notes, he is noted as “a black Indian warrior” as his lineage includes both black and indigenous ancestors. UR has evolved into a collective of musicians, visual artists, DJs and subversive-minded folks bent on creating a musical and political approach to the music business to promoting militant collective efforts, anonymous musical strikes at the conforming consciousness of society at large while and at the same time emphasizing the music as opposed to the personality and egos of the musicians involved. Urging social change is sonically embedded in their beats. There are parallels between UR and IR, some of IR members prefer to work underground and anonymously, and the focus of both groups is working collectively and self-sufficiently to make artistic and social projects that they hope which eventually lead to a more just world. The IR “global conspiracy” also weaves together a subversive web of musicians, artists and activists from around the world; communicating and collaborating across the massive physical distances by creatively using various internet resources and back-end web tools.

UR and Mad Mike have consciously over the years made coded and musical references to indigenous people and various political struggles. In the RED PLANET releases that feature Mad Mike, this is especially evident. One only has to listen to track “The Pipe Carrier” and you can feel his empathy for the plight of the indigenous. Cornelius “Delro “Harris of UR, described in the IR14 liner notes as the “Maroon conspirator,” has been instrumental in articulating and emphasizing the hidden histories of the Maroon rebels in the Americas. As TFTT/IR pointed out in their book “Understanding the Connections Between Black & Aboriginal Peoples,” many African Maroon fugitives were given refuge by the indigenous people of the area who often showed them escape routes they could use to evade their slave owning captors. Maroon communities at times had indigenous people living within them. TFTT termed this the “blakk indian connection.”

This ancestral and spiritual connection inspired Mad Mike when working on the basic track to “Krikati” for IR. One of the templates he used for this was traditional indigenous rhythms mixed with the live African rhythms from the Northeast of Brasil that IR recorded at various street musical celebrations. This mashup of beat styles created a “wikked riddim” that set up a massive foundation for the rest of the layers.

For IR14 DIRECT ACTION DUBMISSIONS, Dr Das, founder and former bass player for Asian Dub Foundation built on the beats and synthesizer work created by UR and injected his his dub-influenced bass lines along with other additional synth programming and some sweet tablas. Dr Das has been a long time collaborator within IR, contributing music for tracks like “Sacred Power (Embracing A Free Leonard Peltier,” and “IR Jungle Base.” “IR Jungle Base” was mastered by Ron Murphy for their IR3 vinyl. Ron, who recently passed away, was a genius in the field of mastering and responsible for the great sound of many electronic classics from the likes of UR, Derek May, and Juan Atkins. (Ron will be sorely missed.)

IR producer “the ghost”, and brasilian DJ, Dubdem and mapuche activist Mapu, decided to pull in the services of Jamaican Mixmaster Steven Stanley for the remixes of Krikati that form IR14 DIRECT ACTION DUBMISSIONS. Stanley whose mixing ability in the world of dub and funk is the stuff of legends, growing out of his classic work with Tom Tom Club, Grace Jones, Manu Dibango, Black Uhuru as well one of UR’s musical favorites, THE B52S. Incidentally one of Dr Das’s big musical influences is bassist, Robbie Shakespeare of the famed “riddim twins Sly ‘n Robbie” who were, and still are, the musical pillar for an incredible amount of Jamaican tracks and artists, including Black Uhuru.

IR wanted to dissolve even more musical boundaries and CREATE THE FIRST DETROIT TECHNO RECORD TO BE MIXED IN JAMAICA by someone who had the original Jamaican dub techniques and that ability to mix bass frequencies that have made Jamaican sound engineers famous. IR have, at times, been disappointed by some dance music vinyl releases that advertise a dub version on their “b side” and finding that these mixes have very little of the authentic dub treatments and studio effects pioneered by dub geniuses like Lee Scratch Perry and King Tubby. Having worked with Steven Stanley for their cd IR10 INDIGENOUS DUBLANDS, IR felt he was the perfect choice to remix the tracks to create IR14. Stanley’s genius is most evident in one of the most sampled records in history, Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love.” IR14 DIRECT ACTION DUBMISSIONS shows the result of this confluence of different musical and cultural influences. Steven Stanley showers the Detroit electro beat provided by UR and driving dub basslines and tablas of Dr Das with his outboard effects and cracking dubology to create extraordinary dub mixes.

“Krikati Power Surge Mix 1” illustrates what happens when a true dubologist lets truly loose with outboard effects, drop outs and tempers that with the avant-garde experimentalism that is a hallmark of dub mixing genius. For a more subtle soulful vibe IR’s personal favorite mix is the “Krikati: Power Outage Mix,” track 3 on the CD. This mix was inspired by the deep soulful quality and the collective strength of the performances in the live UR show “Galaxy 2 Galaxy.” “Krikati Power Surge Mix 1” contains those cool, ethereal and minimalist UR electronic soundscapes, mixed with the deep bass of Dr Das and blended gracefully with subtle Jamaican dubology and mixing effects to create a track that flows delicately, gracefully yet powerfully as well. “Krikati Empowerment” is an electronic lullaby whose dreamlike sequencing is not only appropriate for the infant warriors also for evoking a meditative state of empowerment for those that listen to it.

IR co-conspirator, Prasonik, who collaborated on the titling motif and sequencing of the tracks on this cd had these insightful comments on the music:

“Dub is a sonic form of dreaming. Seeing the original tracks from the inner vision of the mind's eye. I see/hear this dreamlike quality in the “Krikati empowerment mix. This comes through in the UR elements rather than the Jamaican engineering. The melodies are what carry it and they are reminiscent of Galaxy 2 Galaxy whereas the Jamaican elements brings out the physical side of dub, the feeling of a pressure-drop.

I was listening to this great interview with Mad Mike where he spoke about how he and Jeff Mills used to study frequencies. Certain frequencies could trigger feelings of aggression and war-cry, while others were more contemplative and romantic, and I can see there is something like that in those melodic lines here.”

IR14 DIRECT ACTION DUBMISSIONS has been accepted by the dance music download site, Beatport and will be available on the Submerge digital download site. It is also available for download through iTunes and in the CD format online at CDBaby where you can also download an mp3 version of the CD at a special bargain price.
IR10 INDIGENOUS DUBLANDS the predecessor of this cd is also available on cd baby.
IR10 INDIGENOUS DUBLANDS; a 6 track EP with crucial pan global collaborations between indigenous cultures from the jungles, favelas and barrios with those in the industrialized world who work their musical magic in mixing studios and on laptops. It was recorded in the Solomon Islands (South Pacific), Sosolakam (South Pacific), Brazil, Jamaica, Turtle Island (U.S. + Canada) and the United Kingdom. The six tracks feature Dr. Das (ex-member of ADF), Kokonda Dub (of TFTT), Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare (Sly ‘n’ Robbie), Soy Sos and Christiane D. (of Soma Mestizo), Cree singer Jimmy Dick, Saevo and Tohununo of the Solomon Islands, mixer extraordinaire Ramjac in the U.K. and Percussionist & Sound Engineer Dubmeister Steven Stanley (Talking Heads, B52s, and Black Uhuru) in Jamaica and Tapedave at m/t dublab pulled the tracks together. Dubdem, who has lent his talents to previous TFTT and IR releases, created the artwork in Brazil. The first track “Sacred Power: Embracing A Free Leonard Peltier Dub” was created by Dr. Das, Ramjac, Tohununo, with Swampy Cree traditional singing by Jimmy Dick. Dubwise remixing by Steven Stanley. The track is dedicated to Leonard Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement, currently imprisoned in the United States and described by Amnesty International as a political prisoner. Track two is “IR Communiquation: F**k Patriarchy (Tapedave Treetop Mix),” a reworking of Dr. Das’ track “Communique” from his latest album EMERGENCY BASSLINES CD. With additional dub architecture by Tapedave, Kokonda Dub created a message urging men to support radikal women and push past sexism and untruths. The completion of this track was a major catalyst for the self-release of DUBLANDS by IR; they felt a real urgency that the subject matter being addressed warranted a wider release. IR has always supported initiatives by men who address issues denouncing sexism. Their IR2 CD contains Benjamin Zephaniah's powerful poem against domestic violence, "She's Crying For Many."
For track three, “Tatoo Dub mix (Soy Sos mix / Tapedave edit),” Kokonda Dub’s field recordings of Sosolakam musicians, Saevo and Tonhununo, were the basis for Soy Sos’ expansive and atmospheric music bed. Building up the rhythms, Soy Sos (Soma Mestizo member and wizard Producer) created an entrée into the sacred world of Sosolakam. The track features the dub beautiful vocals of traditional singer, Tohununo and Soma Mestizo vocalist Christiane D. Further information on how this track was created, piece by piece, over the internet

indigenous resistance videos are up on youtube just search for the compound word indigenousresistance